Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.
Today’s content
Francis Report, workplace bullying
Barry Soper (Newstalk ZB): Why I believe man stood down from Parliament deserves an apology from Trevor Mallard
Barry Soper (Newstalk ZB): ‘I’m in a very dark place’: Man stood down from Parliament
Barry Soper (Newstalk ZB): ‘Bullied out’: Man stood down from Parliament after Speaker Trevor Mallard’s rape claims wants apology
Newstalk ZB: Man stood down from Parliament could take Mallard to court (audio)
Herald: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern won’t comment on claims made following Francis report
Kate Hawkesby (Newstalk ZB): Parliament’s only real bully is Speaker Trevor Mallard – he needs to go
Teuila Fuatai (Herald): Racism an ugly side of parliamentary culture (paywalled)
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Can bullying laws be fixed?
Tamsyn Parker (Herald): Retirement Commissioner investigation handled ‘shockingly’, reputation expert (paywalled)
Budget
Thomas Coughlan (Newsroom): Cullen consults on massive Budget shake up
Richard Harman (Politik): Exclusive: Robertson on the Budget
Hamish Rutherford (Stuff): Prime Minister claims new debt target represents ‘continuity’
Jason Walls (Herald): The Government will reassess its Budget Responsibility Rules as it looks to future Wellbeing Budgets
RNZ: The Detail: The Wellbeing Budget
Simon Hartley (ODT): Economists expect Govt books will remain in good shape
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Government has brought rock star economy to a grinding halt
Zane Small (Newshub): Budget 2019: What the Government’s announced so far
Newshub: Budget week – what you can expect
Herald: Watch: PM speaks ahead of NZ’s first ‘Wellbeing Budget’
RNZ: Ardern warns of risk of global headwinds ahead of Budget
CPAG: Will Budget 2019 be transformational for children living in poverty?
David Cormack (Herald): What will the Wellbeing Budget bring? (paywalled)
Lorenzo Buscicchi and Dan Weijers (The Conversation): The paradox of happiness: the more you chase it the more elusive it becomes
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): The BS ‘wellbeing Budget’ – this Government’s blown it already
Zane Small (Newshub): What ‘wellbeing’ means to the National Party
Anusha Bradley and Lois Williams (RNZ): Cold, hungry and with no savings, mothers on the breadline hold hopes for Wellbeing Budget
Sandra Conchie (Bay of Plenty Times): Budget wishlist 2019: What the crime and justice sector wants (paywalled)
RNZ: NZ Budget to enhance Pasifika wellbeing
Education
1News: Teachers’ union leaders say there will be ‘ongoing disruption’ if mega-strike doesn’t yield results
John Gerritsen (RNZ): Educators hope for Budget boost: ‘There has never been enough money’
Simon Collins (Herald): Wellbeing Budget: Nurses, counsellors and driving instructors may hold back funds for teachers (paywalled)
Ruby Macandrew (Stuff): Businesses and parents preparing for childcare implications of teachers’ mega-strike
George Heagney (Manawatū Standard): Expectations weigh heavy on Manawatū teachers ahead of mega strike
Josephine Franks (Stuff): Early childhood teachers ‘just trying to survive’
Herald Editorial: Performance of schools doesn’t add up, time to change the equation (paywalled)
Georgina Campbell (Herald): Wellington residents fed up with students ‘yelling, urinating, vomiting’
Housing
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): KiwiBuild’s final target has been dropped
Anne Gibson (Herald): Crown forced to buy 12 KiwiBuild homes: Judith Collins fears ‘black financial hole’ (paywalled)
Katie Bradford (1News): Government looks to buy more motels across the country to shelter the homeless
Mitch McCann (Newshub): All-time high rental prices push families to breaking point
Paul Mitchell (Stuff): Manawatū and Whanganui face fastest growing rents in New Zealand
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): $50 rent rise for heat pump ‘pushed me into sex work’
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Housing survey: New Zealanders still dream of owning home with backyard
Parliament
Bryce Edwards (Herald): Political Roundup: Should we worry about lobbyists’ influence on the Government? (paywalled)
Liam Hehir (Pundit): Ghahraman Derangement Syndrome? Here’s some baby steps towards recovery
Liam Hehir (Stuff): Who needs to take lessons from Australia? You might be surprised
Christian parties
Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): Coming Home …
Simon Connell (Spinoff): The fascinating case of Hannah Tamaki vs the Māori Women’s Welfare League
Employment, industrial relations
Liam Hehir (Spinoff): The National Party needs a new Big Bad
Jono Edwards (ODT): Group pushing to retain waste contract
Aimee Shaw (Herald): The Warehouse workers ‘suicidal’ following mass job cut announcement, First Union says
Wilhelmina Shrimpton (Newshub): Workers ‘devastated’ over The Warehouse staffing overhaul – union
Scott Palmer (Newshub): The Warehouse proposes cutting 150 in-store jobs
Foulden Maar mine proposal, mining
Simon Hartley (ODT): Protection challenge by Plaman
Tim Miller (ODT): ‘World-class’ consultation offer
Farah Hancock (Newsroom): Southern discomfort at fossil mining plans
Gavin Evans (BusinessDesk): Eugenie Sage decision a new low in politics of protest
Environment and conservation
Dave Armstrong (Stuff): Kākāpō are dying, and we humans don’t seem to care
1News: NZ’s kākāpō population, already on the brink of extinction, grapples with deadly outbreak
Amber-Leigh Woolf (Stuff): Department of Conservation’s threats report ‘flawed system’, say marine advocates
Amber-Leigh Woolf (Stuff): New Zealand native pāua and kina could decline as oceans warm
Michael Neilson (Herald):Hauraki Gulf – Tīkapa Moana: How to save our big blue backyard (paywalled)
RNZ: West Coast clean up proves too costly for council
RNZ: Fox River rubbish spill should be declared a national disaster, volunteers say
Dental care
Patrick Gower (Newshub): Revealed: Almost 120,000 Kiwi kids missing their free dental check-ups
Newshub: ‘No more letters’: Jesse Mulligan blasts Govt inaction on water-only schools
Brittany Keogh (Stuff): Dentists fed up with treating ‘third world’ conditions call for more funding for dental care
Brittney Deguara (Stuff): How does the cost of dental work in New Zealand compare overseas?
1News: Jacinda Ardern concerned over ‘long lead times’ kids with serious dental issues may be facing
Rowan Quinn (RNZ): Toddler waits five months for treatment for rotten teeth, abscesses
1News: New technology allows dentists to see patients remotely in region with high rate of tooth decay in children
Mental health
Oliver Lewis (Stuff): ‘Waiting with bated breath’: mental health and addiction sector awaits Government response
Tova O’Brien (Newshub): Government won’t adopt suicide reduction target
Laura Tupou (Newshub): Emergency departments pushed past their limits with mental health issues
Amy Wiggins (Herald): Long waits for mental health care in struggling emergency departments, report finds
Health
Guyon Espiner (RNZ): Pharmac Investigation: NZ diabetes drugs ‘third world’ – doctor
Indira Stewart (RNZ): Pharmac playing ‘money game’ by not funding drug 49 other countries back – campaigner
Elspeth McLean (ODT): Colonoscopy referral process change for Southland specialists
Stuff: Waikato DHB sizing up potential chief executives
RNZ: Auckland measles: hospital rates at half of patients
RNZ: Woman with measles prompts public alert in Northland
Lois Williams (RNZ): Northland DHB warns travellers to check measles immunity
Southland maternity services
1News: Ardern to ‘have another look’ at Southland maternity services after roadside Lumsden birth
Mike Houlahan (ODT): PM to look again at maternity services
Katie Todd (RNZ): Minister, health board defend maternity hub move following roadside birth
Rachael Kelly (Stuff): SDHB will provide oxygen to Lumsden maternal hub after baby born on side of road
1News: Southland DHB boss says ambulance ‘entirely an appropriate place’ to give birth
RNZ: ‘Major emergencies’ during birth after maternity services closes
Mark Quinlivan and Emily O’Connell (Newshub): Woman forced to give birth on side of road calls for better rural maternity services
1News: ‘This is unacceptable’ – Southland woman gives birth roadside after local maternity centre downgraded
State care of children, youth detention
Southland Times Editorial: Finding default – we’re getting youth remands wrong
Katie Doyle (RNZ): Children in police cells a direct Treaty breach – Māori Council
Newshub: Children’s Commissioner calls for troubled youths to be placed in community
Māori TV: Rethink urged for the way youth offenders are dealt with
Tema Hemi (Māori TV): Mum calls out state services for lack of support
Justice, corrections
Harrison Christian (Stuff): Corrections failed dying inmate Vicki Letele, Health and Disability Commission finds
Amy Wiggins (Herald): Prison’s medical staff fail to detect inmate’s advanced gastric cancer
RNZ: Corrections failed to provide care for prisoner with cancer – deputy Health and Disability Commissioner
Vita Molyneux (Newshub): Department of Corrections failed to diagnose woman with advanced gastric cancer
Stuff: Victims of plane hijacker Asha Abdille get $9500 of her $25,000 compo payout
Immigration
RNZ: Immigration Minister agrees Middle East, Africa refugees rules are discriminatory
Jehan Casinader (1News): Is it racist? ‘Very serious questions’ raised about fairness of NZ’s refugee policy
Albert Redmore (Newshub): World Vision calls on New Zealand to end ‘discriminatory’ refugee policy
Murdoch Stephens (Spinoff): A short history of New Zealand’s racist refugee policy
Primary industries
Angie Skerrett (Newshub): Frustration as dairy farmers flout cattle ID scheme ahead of stock moving day
RNZ: M Bovis: Thousands of dairy farms not on tracking system as moving day looms
Glen Herud (Stuff): What we can learn from squirrels as we transition to low carbon
Media
Rick Neville (Herald): Pilot scheme for regional reporters is good news
Anuja Nadkarni (Stuff): New public media fund allocates $1 million to regional reporting
Herald: NZ on Air funds pilot scheme to boost local body news coverage
Mark Stevens (Stuff): Rise of Facebook and Google and failed NZME/Stuff merger threaten regional journalism
Laura Walters (Newsroom): Peters named ‘old naughty’ by Chinese-language media
Local government
Tom Hunt (Dominion Post): Council sets Town Belt precedent in Newtown bowls fiasco
Kelly Makiha (Rotorua Daily Post):‘Hate speech’ row erupts after Rotorua councillor Tania Tapsell compared to the Pied Piper
Laura James (1News): Hamilton councillor resigns over controversial social media posts following Christchurch terrorist attack
Donna-Lee Biddle (Stuff): Hamilton Councillor James Casson resigns from Immigration NZ
Herald: Hamilton City Councillor James Casson resigns from role at Immigration NZ
ODT Editorial: Iwi representation gets us talking
Ripu Bhatia (Stuff): Council vote for new building fees poses risks to affordable housing – experts
Herald: Auckland Mayor Phil Goff calls out ‘disgusting’ Facebook commenters
Stuff: Auckland mayor Phil Goff condemns hate speech left on his Facebook page
Dominic Harris and Michael Hayward (Press): Christchurch stadium could cost almost $1b to build and operate
Paul Taylor (Mountain Scene): Bed tax battle lines
Ellen O’Dwyer (Waikato Times): Tamahere Reserve volunteers battle council for signs
Cannabis law reform
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): The Government is looking for a cannabis expert with ‘proven experience’
1News: Cannabis policy manager job up for grabs ahead of referendum on drug’s legal status
Herald: Cannabis expert wanted: Government seeking Policy Manager with ‘proven experience’
Shaun Brookes (Herald): What legalising cannabis would mean for employers (paywalled)
Fiona Hutton (Newsroom): Let’s be pragmatic about drugs
Foreign Affairs and trade
RNZ: Cook Islands and NZ ministers meet
1News: Kiwi companies come together to cash in on China’s largest online marketplace
Transport
Chloe Ranford (Stuff): Blenheim bypass broken down: $200m versus a ‘couple of minutes’
Nicholas Boyack (Stuff): More to the Melling Link than just easing congestion on State Highway 2
Sarah Downs (Manawatū Standard): Long road to reconnecting Manawatū and Hawke’s Bay
Herald: Wharf management and care of elderly short-term focus to fix the Waiheke ferry fury
RNZ: Fullers Waiheke service to be examined after complaints
1News: Frustrations boiling over as Waiheke Island residents lose faith in Fullers ferry service
RNZ: Green light for two new e-scooter operators in Christchurch
Logan Savory (Southland Times): Concerns raised as Invercargill look at electric scooters
James Shaw assault
Tommy Livingston (Stuff): Man accused of assaulting Green Party co-leader James Shaw pleads guilty
Melissa Nightingale (Herald): James Shaw’s attacker admits assault
RNZ: Man accused of assaulting James Shaw pleads guilty
Crime
RNZ: Serious crime on the rise, despite police stats – Bridges
Dan Satherley (Newshub): Serious crime up because Govt is cutting prison numbers – Bridges
1News: Simon Bridges says Government stats about drop in crime victims have ‘got to be nonsense’
Curwen Ares Rolinson (Daily Blog): Bridges’ Claim On Crime Rates A “Serious Harm” To Causality
Andre Chumko (Stuff): Hawke’s Bay mayors look at extending gang patch ban
Marty Sharpe (Stuff): Mongrel Mob pair kicked and beat unconscious man in Hastings ‘gang warfare’
Tara Shaskey (Taranaki Daily News): Ex-Taranaki cop’s sentence of home detention for sexual assaults will not be appealed
Albert Redmore (Newshub): Watch: Local councillor calls for Government action over south Auckland shootings
Other
Stuff: Threat of arrest over Hawke’s Bay land dispute recedes for a week
RNZ: Family occupying land told to leave or face arrest
Jim Kayes (Newsroom): Live NPC matches may be axed in TV deal
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Backpacking tourism sector unable to explain dramatic $167m spending fall
RNZ: Government world leader in Artificial Intelligence – but we need to be cautious: Report
Scottie Reeve (Stuff): Folau and Tamaki take their lead on Jesus from a different place to me
Stuff: The Māori King has met with Pope Francis in Rome
1News: With Queen’s Birthday sales approaching, will you actually saving money at the till?
